Tenderly
by AssortedScribbler
Summary: Two Friday evenings post-Episode 14. Established Reddie.


**Title:** Tenderly  
><strong>CharactersPairings:** Rachel Mason. Eddie Lawson. Alison Lawson. Stephen (Alison's boyfriend). Reddie.  
><strong>Warnings:<strong> None. Very safe. Fluff.

**Soundtrack:** The Woman In Me (Needs The Man In You) by Shania Twain.

**A/N:** Facts you need to know – Alison is involved with a man called Stephen.

Much as I adore vulnerable Rachel, and sensitive Eddie, I've been trying to do something a little different - challenge the Eddie-comforting-Rachel stereotype that seems to pucker my writing – it's a hard habit to shift. But I think I've finally managed it. Let me know if it's completely left field or whether it works, I'd give a lot to know what you think!

Two parts. First is my try at something different. Second is back to my standard fluff because I just couldn't shake the idea. I'll offer just about anything for comments!

**Summary:** Two Friday evenings post-Episode 14. Established Reddie.

**Tenderly**

Rachel strode happily down her lover's stairs, having checked one more time that his spare room was in a habitable state for his son – she knew it would be, but she was a little nervous, and checking everything over herself was a way to combat the fluttering in the bottom of her stomach. This was the first weekend she would be spending with Michael, having arranged for Philip to stay with a friend for tonight and tomorrow. Philip had been more than happy with the arrangement and when he'd heard, she had mentioned to Eddie that introducing his son to two new people at the same time might not be wise. He confessed he'd been thinking the same but wasn't sure how Phil would react. Rachel desperately wanted everything to be perfect; she knew how important it was to Eddie that Michael feel comfortable around her. And they were both confident they'd have another opportunity to introduce Philip – they both had hope that one day, it would be the four of them on a day out.

Swinging herself gently around on the banister's end to face the living room as she skipped off the last step, Rachel wondered if this was excitement she was biting down on her lip, or nerves that she was biting back. Hoping it was the former, she went in search of Eddie, whom she found in the kitchen, hovering by the oven as if worried if he left their meal for this evening in a room on its own for just one minute, it'd be irreparably ruined. Admittedly, Rachel was a hopeless cook, but she was fairly certain pasta couldn't go that badly wrong in a minute. Leaning on the doorway, she folded her arms and crossed one leg in front of the other, watching him with a warm, loving smile as he peered in the oven, as yet unaware of her.

A moment later, he stood to his full height and turned toward her, probably having caught her reflection in the glass, and he gave her a mildly worried but happy smile in return for hers. She was about to approach him when an annoying electronic noise sounded from the kitchen counter, where Eddie's phone had been abandoned when they arrived earlier. Frowning, they both moved towards it, Eddie checking the screen before a dark cloud began to hover over his expression and he almost stabbed the "Accept Call" button.

"Alison?" Rachel knew it couldn't be good news. Michael was supposed to be arriving in quarter of an hour; there was no good news that couldn't wait fifteen minutes until Alison dropped him off. Moving closer to Eddie, she tried to decipher what he was hearing, but she didn't need to really – she could tell from his expression, and the shake of his shoulders, what his ex-wife was telling him. They weren't going to be seeing Michael tonight. "But he's my son too – yes, but Stephen's parents are nothing to do with – he could still come – fine. Next weekend." Rachel took the phone out of his hand before he could throw it in any direction, especially not towards tiles or the oven. She couldn't stop him thumping his kitchen surface just a little before recovering his temper.

Hunching over the counter top, he breathed deeply, and Rachel went straight to his side, smoothing a hand down his back while the other curled around his arm, gently turning him towards her. His face was scrunched up with disappointment and anger, and when his eyes found hers, she knew there was a sadness hidden in the depths there too.

"I'm sorry, Eddie." She murmured, cupping her hand around his cheek, looking up at him sadly.

"She shouldn't..." He broke off his words with a snap of his jaw, turning his face into her hand, taking comfort from the gesture as he railed against the circumstances he was faced with. Eddie loved his son more than anything in this world, and much as he had tried not to show it, he'd been looking forward to seeing him for at least two weeks when the visit had been arranged. And while the entire situation may not be Alison's fault, Rachel felt more than a flicker of protective defiance towards the other woman as she acknowledged there had to have been a time, earlier today, when she and Stephen would have known Michael wouldn't be coming – but they had left it until now to call.

"No, she shouldn't." Rachel agreed quietly, brushing her thumb across his cheek, letting the movement speak for her. Eddie sighed, shortly and sharply, before looking up from his angry glare at the floor and finding her gaze. She could see him making a concerted effort not to play Kevin the teenager, sulking because he didn't get what he wanted, and she appreciated the effort, though she felt he had a right to hold onto the mood a while longer.

"Do you want to call Philip?" He asked, gruffly, as her fingers shifted from his face to his neck and then his shoulder, the feel of her skin on his evening out his breathing.

"And face a fully-fledged teenage-sulk-fuelled moan for being called back from staying over at a friend's? No thanks." The words, coupled with her favourite petulant tone almost drew a smile from her lover. "He'll have a great time, and I should imagine he'll welcome the chance to get away for a while." Rachel almost chuckled, thinking of how much lighter her nephew's expression had been when she mentioned the idea.

"Good point. Well, the dinner is still cooked – and you've got a bag." The corner of his mouth tried to turn upwards, the prospect of still being able to share her company lifting his mood a little.

"Eddie, wild horses couldn't drag me away." Rachel smiled up at him indulgently, wrapping her slighter hand as much as she could around one of his larger ones, moving a little closer into his space, her bright eyes settling back the last of his grudging anger with his ex-wife. Scooping an arm around her little waist, he tucked her into his side, directing them both towards the back door, and his somewhat limited, but tidy garden. It was fairly long, but quite narrow, with borders of either side that looked a little wild, but enough grass for a game of football to be stretched along the length. Rachel knew, she'd sat on the step last weekend watching Eddie and Phil kick a ball around. It was the first time she'd felt part of a family in a long time. Which brought her thoughts back to Alison with a bump.

Eddie's arm slipped from her body as he lowered himself down to perch on his back step, eyes flickering around the grass, taking in the ball he'd got out that was now a decidedly dejected reminder that it would not be used this weekend, and the gentle peach colour of the evening sky seemed to mock his darkened mood. Rachel was trying to watch him without seeming as though she was, cautious of getting too close while he was angry and invading his space if he needed it. She wasn't sure if he was ready to talk about this, his son was such a separate world from them, and Philip. Something they'd been trying to change tonight.

"I hate this, Rach." He muttered, wiping his hands roughly across his face as he rested his elbows on his thighs. Sadly, Rachel slid down to perch on the step beside him, tucking her arms neatly around her bent knees but making sure the side of her body was resting gently against his, knowing he needed the reminder he wasn't alone. The reminder that he knew she would do absolutely anything to change the situation he found himself in.

"I hate that I can't see my own son. And I hate that she can take away the few chances I get in a second. It shouldn't be this way." His gaze lay in his lap, his forehead supported by his arched fingers, hiding the fierce emotion from her knowing eyes because some part of him still clung onto that image of masculinity that was ingrained at such a young age, but at the same time, Rachel didn't need to see and part of him understood that. She knew, from the constriction of his voice, the shape of his back, the hunch of his shoulders. Reaching out, lightly, she smoothed a hand across his shirt, leaning against him and resting a hand on his knee, softly and carefully.

"I know, my love." She whispered, her eyes grazing across his hands and over his head, wishing for any way to relieve what he was feeling. She knew how brilliant a father Eddie was – she saw it every day, with Phil, and with the kids they took care of, she just wished Alison would give him the chance. Slowly, he lifted his head away from his hands, looking down the garden again before turning to look at her, his mouth set in a stern line to hold back the frustration. Her fingers abandoned his knee for his cheek, stroking the hair away from his face, just letting him draw himself together while she tried to communicate her empathy with eyes she knew he could read effortlessly.

Slowly, and with an inner strength Rachel wasn't sure she possessed, Eddie lifted his arms towards her and she moved swiftly into them, wrapping hers around his broad torso and shoulders, holding him to her while he buried his face in the ends of her hair and the crook of her neck. She knew, for a few seconds, he found peace there and she was immeasurably glad. His hands tucked further into her sides, bringing her closer, and she could feel him breathing deeply against her skin.

It was a few minutes they remained like that, holding each other, and Rachel wondered for a moment if either of them would feel the inclination to move again. Before they had met each other, there had never been another person who could calm and support them with so few words spoken, and so little actually done. It was the mark of truly sharing part of themselves that they could be comfortable with this, and Rachel wished there had not been such a delay in getting to this point. Yet, at the same time, she wouldn't take back how they got here. Eddie was her equal, and she knew he loved her. And in moments like this, she knew he believed she loved him too.

To many people, the words had so much significance, could change the course of a life, but to Rachel and she suspected to Eddie, the actual words meant very little. The feelings they signified had grown so slowly, and crept upon both of them so gradually, it just seemed an established fact. They loved each other. Implacably. What they felt was a part of them that would not change. Not words that would move mountains, but meaning enough to keep them going, keep them fighting, to give them a reason to move mountains, and those feelings were as much as part of them as their heart and lungs. They didn't need to say it – but sometimes, they wanted to, because it was a beautiful thing to hear, and all the more sweet for what they had gone through to say it.

Insecurities had been washed away, replaced with the assurance that they were together, and they were lovers. Not perfect, not without problems, but in love none the less.

A faint beeping in the background signalled them drawing apart slowly, faint smiles being exchanged, before they both stretched to their feet, a little sore from the step, and turned back indoors, Eddie directing his attention to the oven's timer while Rachel went to the fridge, and wine.

Later on, they lay on the sofa, plates left on the table, Rachel curled around Eddie's side, his arms gathered around her again as she drew impulsive patterns on his shirt, above his heart. It had been silent for a while, both lost in individual thoughts while grounded by the touch and feel of the other.

"I'm sorry you didn't spend tonight with your son." Rachel finally murmured, nuzzling her forehead against his chest, while a few of his fingers stroked up and down her side.

"I'm glad you stayed." He muttered back, pressing a kiss to her crown, before sighing lowly in more contentment than she'd heard in a while. Smiling slightly, she drew with one finger a little more purposefully, carefully shaped obvious letters and one symbol that she knew he would be able to see in his mind. A moment after she'd finished, he chuckled and she felt the vibration run through her, tickling her cheek slightly as she leant up to see his eyes, warmth engulfing her as she saw the melting chocolate colour he met her gaze with. "I love you too." He smiled, and she shifted herself up, towards him, brushing her lips lightly across his, before he cupped a hand around her head and brought her down to his mouth, sharing a deeper, fuller kiss.

.~*~. .~*~. .~*~. .~*~.

Rachel leant back into her sofa, tipped her wine glass against her lips and gratefully letting the liquid slip over into her mouth, the taste familiar and soothing. She could hear a car on the road outside, and the faint thump and dull noise of music from Philip's room, which at a guess she would bet on being Bolton's influence, but she was trying not to let the outside world play on her mind tonight. She'd been tense from work, and she could feel the threat of a rather Moroccan-drumbeat-mimic of a headache around her temples, and now she had the most recent argument with her nephew playing over in her thoughts. It was the usual, teenage problems, just a sulk on his part really, but she'd been unable to let it go this time, and it had ended with stomping, and slamming. Rachel spared a thought for whether his door may need the hinges looking at.

Living with Phil wasn't easy – but it had been getting better, since Eddie became a bigger part of their personal lives. Rachel knew this one had been her fault, an irritation left over from school and lack of sugar from missing lunch to chair a Board meeting. She was planning on giving her nephew a while to cool down and then say so, she didn't like leaving arguments hanging in the air, especially not in her house or with her nephew. Much as he could be difficult, she loved him, and he deserved an easier time than he was getting just recently. She didn't need to make difficulties on top of everything.

Abruptly, her phone buzzed on the table where she'd left it earlier, and she dragged herself up, checking the screen to see the one name she wanted to see. "Come to the front door." A smile beginning in the corners of her mouth, Rachel shifted herself to her feet, abandoning her wine glass on the table too as she went to the front of her house. Even before she opened the door, she could see his fuzzy shadow through the glass and she felt a weight lift from her just knowing he was close by. Opening up, she looked up at him, a quizzical eyebrow perfectly arched to ask the obvious question.

"Phil texted me. Said you could do with company." A light frown reforming her features, Rachel let him in, watching as he all but slung his coat over the bottom of her banister, despite there being hooks behind the door, a habit she knew was unconscious for him, and while perhaps she should be annoyed by it, it was a part of him that she wouldn't change. Eddie was never one to stand on ceremony if he could help it. Turning her mind to why Eddie was there, Rachel folded her arms, wondering if she was due for a lecture about "teenagers need space" but was pleasantly surprised when Eddie flicked a look up the stairs then drew closer to her, sliding his hands down her arms to interlock their fingers. "He's sorry you know. He knew you weren't in the mood for being pushed. That's why he texted. Couldn't work out how to apologise."

"He doesn't need to. I snapped." Rachel sighed, cutting across Eddie, her normally smooth voice tempered with regret and concealed frustration with herself.

"Well, he's sorry anyway." Eddie said quietly, giving her a look that didn't antagonize or contradict, knowing it would do no good.

"So am I." Rachel murmured, looking up at the floor above, silently admitted her debt to Phil for bringing Eddie over. It was an unexpected, but lovely gesture from a boy she knew didn't often understand how to make his sentiments clear.

"Why don't you go and talk to him?" Eddie asked, softly, and Rachel nodded, making to move past her best friend before stopping and squeezing his hand.

"Will you wait?" She asked, her voice low but knowing he would understand her wanting him to be there when she came back down. He nodded, squeezing back briefly before letting her go. She gave him a small smile before heading up her stairs. A little while later, after talking things through with Phil and both of them apologising properly, admittedly with a little awkwardness from them both, Rachel descended to her hallway feeling quite a bit happier. Eddie had obviously heard her coming, because he was leant on her living room doorway, hands in his pockets, smiling up at her in a semi-proud, shared-happiness kind of way.

Gaining his side, she leant up on her tip toes and pressed a kiss to his cheek, a silent thank you for understanding, and doing the right thing. He smiled even wider under the touch, before taking her hand again and leading her inside the room, his hand still slightly cold from being outside as they got to the sofa and Eddie sat down at the end. Rachel followed his example and did the same, but he gently took hold of her shoulders and turned her, so her back was to him, before guiding her down, her head now resting comfortably on his lap. Curling her legs into the rest of the sofa, Rachel gazed up at her lover and smiled, wondering when his touch had begun to sooth her frayed edges better than wine, better than coffee, better than her favourite comfy clothes.

Eddie gazed down at her, something so soft and warm about his expression, before he lifted a gentle hand and brushed some hair away from her cheeks and forehead, his fingertips glancing and light. Rachel closed her eyes, absorbing the sensation while concealing a slight wince over the cool of his skin against her own, which was quite warm. It wasn't that she didn't like the contrast, it was more an involuntary reaction she sought to hide to keep him touching her. A moment later, she knew he'd seen anyway, and his skin left hers. Rachel grappled with the urge to moan in protest.

Above her, she could hear the sound of his hands being rubbed together quickly, the friction no doubt warming his skin right up and Rachel opened her eyes slowly, taking in the movement before looking around at Eddie's kind face, which she could tell was focussed and determined. His hands ceased their rubbing together and his attention once again lowered to her, fingertips once more finding purchase on her hairline as his eyes found hers. 'Relax' he told her without a word, and Rachel closed her eyes again, breathing out gently as his thumb swept across her forehead, before finding her temple and middle finger found the other. Gently and slowly, he began a small circular motion, easing away the threatening headache and causing her taught upper muscles to let go.

Her expression loosened as she let him sooth her, her hands smoothing out across her stomach and laying flat, her breathing lengthening and deepening, while his fingers brushed down her cheek, down her nose in an affection gesture before brushing through her hair. The golden weight was something he delighted in burying himself in, but tonight, it was for her benefit, combing through the perfectly styled bob and she could vaguely feel him watching as the sensation caressed away anything thought of trouble she had yet retained. The last consciously formed idea Rachel had was how much she truly loved the man whose touch she would never tire of.


End file.
